I found myself in Pembroke, MA this afternoon visiting a showroom for windows and doors. After completing my business, I decided to head over to the ocean, given how close I was. I visited the very quaint Scituate Lighthouse which was built in 1811. It was here, during the war of 1812, that Rebecca (21) and Abby (15) Bates, daughters of the lighthouse keeper, observed a British ship making directly for the harbor. With their father away, the girls dispatched their brother to run for help. As the British ship drew near and began offloading sailors onto barges, the two struck up their fife and drum. Hidden from sight, the two girls sounded for all the world like an approaching army force. The British sailors retreated and the ship sailed away. The sisters became known the world over as “The Army of Two.”

Today, I celebrated my 63rd birthday. I still find it hard to fathom that I am a Sexagenarian (if not for the fact that I still really enjoy sex). It seems like only yesterday that I was beginning my career and starting a family. The time has passed in the blink of an eye. I have been married to a delightful, intelligent, and beautiful woman for almost half my life, have raised three children of whom I am so proud, and enjoyed a fulfilling and impactful career. I am a lucky man by any measure and feel even more compelled to make the most of every day that lies ahead. This brings us to the topic of ice cream which is how my day of celebration ended after Jeanine and I enjoyed lunch with my high school friend Tom and his lovely wife Karen, who also has a birthday today.

Temperatures are starting to drop and the feel of fall is in the air. This view of the Sudbury River has long been a favorite of mine since we moved to the area some 18 years ago. It is now even more meaningful as our new home lies just around the bend.

Pictured left is JD, the son of my cousin Vinny and his wife Michelle who are visiting from Manhattan Beach, CA. They treated us to a lovely brunch at the Farmstead Table in Newton Centre along with Nicolai and Maya. JD is a sophomore at Boston College where he is majoring in political science and communications. We had a delightful time catching up on family and comparing notes on parental matchmaking (apparently Vinny and I are equally interested in our children’s dating status and choices), house renovation (Michelle is a lawyer by day and avid interior designer by night), travel, and sports.

Earlier in the day, my soccer team cruised to a 4-0 win over Lexington which puts us at the top of the chart in our over-55 soccer league.

Founded by her two sons, the Lois Wells Memorial Kicks for Cancer soccer tournament is an annual event designed to raise money for ovarian cancer research. The day-long tournament features matches between local teams with all gate receipts and food and merchandise profits going to the very worthy cause. Players wear custom jerseys that carry the name of a loved one who was lost to or is battling cancer. Nicolai is coaching the CCHS men’s junior varsity team which faced arch-rival, Lincoln Sudbury. A close and hard-fought match ultimately concluded with CCHS winning 2-0. I was there for the match and photographed the action. A full set of photos can be found here.

Jeanine has decided that the groundhog is her spirit animal. She sees our resident pair, Greg and Grace, almost every day when she has her morning coffee in the living room which overlooks our side yard. There they can be observed doing all the things that groundhogs like to do (eating; they favor our local mushrooms, cavorting about the yard, sunbathing side by side). They are an extremely cute couple and we will try to ensure that our new home construction project does not disturb their den.

Today, I received several photos taken by others at my recent 45th-anniversary high school reunion. As much as I enjoy taking photos, sometimes it is nice to be featured on the other side of the lens. I am pictured above with class beauties, Christine Dieshner and MaryAnn Lake and with my high school wrestling partner and life-long friend, Tom Metzold below.

My mother is now 93 years old and still enjoys ballroom dancing (primarily Tango and Milonga) twice a week. My sister Alissa, 4 years my junior, has followed in her footsteps and fallen in love with ballroom dancing. She can be seen here performing to Swan Lake during a USA Dance demonstration at a shopping mall in Albany, NY. Something of a swan herself, this was a very fitting performance for her and my favorite to date.

Modeled after the traditional meyhanes of Turkey, the modern Mediterranean / middle eastern menu at Sarma is a large selection of small plates ( meze ). We had planned to dine here with my cousin Vinny (no, not Joe Pesci) and his wife who are visiting the area. A work commitment got in the way but we decided to keep the reservation and dined with the kids. We had a lovely evening, filled with the kind of joy a parent can only feel when all their babies are happy, healthy, and living life well. The significance of the octopus painted on the wall of their parking lot converted to outdoor dining never became apparent to me but made for a nice photo.

In addition to teaching history at the Concord Middle School, Nicolai is the head coach of the Concord Carlisle High School Men’s JV Soccer Team. Their nascent season is off to a good start with an undefeated record of 3-0-1. Nico asked me to take a team photo and I was happy to oblige. He suggested we use a concrete wall as a background and I rather like that choice over the more common sea of green or soccer netting that is more often seen in such portraits.

In soccer, there is the concept of a 50/50 ball. It means that you and your opponent have an equal chance to gain control of a ball that lies halfway between you. Coaches implore players to win 50/50 balls. In my soccer game this morning, I chased down a less than perfect defensive pass to the keeper running at full throttle and threw myself into the path of his clearance kick. The ball hit me in the right hip at point-blank range and looped back over the goalie and into the net for our first goal in a very tight match. Our team manager described it as winning a 20/80 ball (an all but lost cause) and it was a nice way to notch my first goal of the season. During my next shift, I nearly scored on a header but a head-to-head collision with my defender left me with a minor concussion. In a departure from past behavior, I decided to sit out the rest of the game based on all I now understand of concussion protocol. We did not score again until the closing minutes for a 2-0 win. After a long recovery nap, I joined Jeanine and another couple for outdoor dining at the Revolution Hall in Lexington followed by ice cream at Bedford Farms.

This evening, I attended the Mont Pleasant High School 45th anniversary reunion in Schenectady, NY. I drove out for the day with my high school wrestling partner and great friend, Tom Metzold. We left early enough to ensure we would arrive before closing at Civitello’s Spumoni Shop located in the Little Italy section of town. They make the best lemon ice I have ever had anywhere in the world and a visit to Schenectady in the summer is not complete without a visit to this lovely shop now celebrating 100 years in business. Our reunion was wonderful and I enjoyed seeing old friends again and learning more about classmates I did not know as well at the time. The only disappointing part of the evening was how poorly this group portrait turned out. I used an on-camera flash but must have had it adjusted incorrectly which led to this very grainy and under-exposed result. Even so, I am glad to have taken it so that it might become part of the historical record. Another such record was a school newspaper article written by Tom that someone brought to the reunion. It highlights our senior year wrestling season and reminded me of my long since forgotten undefeated 22-0 record.

While growing up in Schenectady, NY, I attended Mont Pleasant High School. Uniquely, it offered a technical program sponsored by General Electric, the major employer in the area at the time. This track was designed to prepare students for careers in engineering and is the reason my parents enrolled me here. The school opened in 1931 as one of Schenectady’s two high schools. In 1992, the other high school, Linton High, merged with Mont Pleasant with Linton becoming Schenectady High and Mont Pleasant a middle school. My brother Mark, sister Alissa, and I attended Mont Pleasant while my sister Mayela, attended cross-town rival, Linton. Tomorrow, I am looking forward to a reunion of the Class of 1976.

Normally, I charge my electric car at home overnight. When I travel beyond its 200-mile range, I rely on a network of high-speed (150KW) chargers that are becoming increasingly available. Using such a charger, I can replenish 160 miles in 30 minutes. Still far less convenient for long-distance travel than a fossil-fuel-powered car, it is by no means a barrier to longer journeys.